Noro Slouch Hat Knitting Pattern

Noro Slouch Hat

What Is Being Made

The Noro Slouch Hat is a relaxed, comfortable knit hat designed with a slouchy silhouette. This easy-level project creates a finished hat with a brim circumference of 21 inches (53.5 centimeters) and a total length of 12 inches (30.5 centimeters). The slouchy design provides a casual, contemporary look suitable for everyday wear.

Construction and Techniques

This hat is constructed using a bottom-up, seamless, worked-in-the-round method, which eliminates the need for seaming and creates a smooth, continuous fabric. The pattern features striping throughout the design, adding visual interest to the finished piece. Working in the round using circular and double-pointed needles ensures that the hat maintains its tubular shape without requiring assembly.

The construction begins with a cast-on foundation row to establish the required number of stitches on the circular needle. As the hat is worked upward, the knitter will encounter various shaping techniques to achieve the slouchy fit and proper proportions.

Stitches and Shaping Techniques

The Noro Slouch Hat employs several fundamental knitting stitches and techniques:

• Stockinette stitch (St st) forms the primary fabric structure
• Increases are created using methods such as knit in front and back of stitch and make one variations (both knitwise and purlwise), which add stitches to expand the fabric as needed
• Decreases including knit 2 together and purl 2 together reduce stitch counts for shaping
• Slip, slip, knit decreases provide a refined, left-leaning decrease technique
• Stitch markers help track pattern repeats and construction points throughout the round

The pattern may include charted sections with "no stitch" indicators, which represent areas where stitches have been decreased or not yet created, requiring the knitter to skip over these spaces while working the active stitches.

Materials and Tools

The Noro Slouch Hat requires minimal materials, making it an efficient project:

• Yarn: 1 ball (150 grams) of Noro Kanzashi in colorway #02
• Needles: One size US 9/5.5mm circular needle measuring 16 inches (40 centimeters) long for the initial cast-on and early rounds, and one set of five size US 10½/6.5mm double-pointed needles for the transition to smaller circumference knitting as the crown decreases
• Notions: One stitch marker for tracking rounds and pattern placement

The pattern recommends using LYKKE® needles and hooks for optimal results. The gauge is established at 11 stitches and 21 rounds over 4 inches (10 centimeters) in stockinette stitch using the size US 10½/6.5mm needles, and checking this gauge before beginning ensures proper finished measurements.